Support
Support

Depression

Depression affects people in Australia every day. Share your own story and learn about other member’s experiences with depression.

Start a conversation

FAQ

Find answers to some of the more frequently asked questions on the Forums.

View the FAQ

Forums guidelines

Our guidelines keep the Forums a safe place for people to share and learn information.

View the guidelines
Categories
Start a conversation

Pinned discussions

BeyondBlue Hello! Read this if you're not sure how to get started
  • replies: 0

Welcome This section of the Beyond Blue Forums is for talking about our experiences with depression. There are lots of chats about how it makes us feel, what it’s like to live with depression and what has worked to help in these times. Thank you for ... View more

Welcome This section of the Beyond Blue Forums is for talking about our experiences with depression. There are lots of chats about how it makes us feel, what it’s like to live with depression and what has worked to help in these times. Thank you for coming this far, we know it can be really hard to take these steps if depression is in your life - we see you and think this is a great step. To get the most out of this space we have a few tips: Get involved. The Forums work best for you when you get active and post where you can. Now, we know that can be really hard, especially when you are experiencing depression. So, if you can post something supportive to someone else here, that would be an incredible start. Speak from the heart. This community wants to know how YOU feel and what has worked for YOU. We trust that you have something unique to say and we can’t wait to hear it. Check in. Lots of the discussions in this section of the Forums have been going for years and they are some of the richest conversations we have. Keep checking in to get new ideas and offer your support. We know it can be tough to start, but when you are ready we want to hear your thoughts. If you need some time to get to know the community, that's okay! Have a look around and see where you want to get involved. Thank you for being here! Beyond Blue

Jeriava How do I talk to my doctor?
  • replies: 9

I’ve been struggling with my life for the past 7-8 years but I finally made an appointment with a doctor. I feel really scared though because I don’t ever go to the doctor for anything, and I havent seen this doctor for so many years that I’m really ... View more

I’ve been struggling with my life for the past 7-8 years but I finally made an appointment with a doctor. I feel really scared though because I don’t ever go to the doctor for anything, and I havent seen this doctor for so many years that I’m really scared that they’ll judge me or won’t believe anything I say. I’m really anti social so I feel like I won’t be able to say what I wanna say or I’ll say the wrong thing causing them to just dismiss me and move me along without helping. I’m just tired of feeling alone, depressed and just worthless but I’m really scared to talk to them.

AGrace SELF HELP TIPS FOR MANAGING DEPRESSION
  • replies: 132

Hi Everyone, Here are some ideas you might like to try for managing symptoms of depression. Of course everyone's different, so let us know what works for you, and please feel free to add to the list... Mindfulness – through breathing or engaging the ... View more

Hi Everyone, Here are some ideas you might like to try for managing symptoms of depression. Of course everyone's different, so let us know what works for you, and please feel free to add to the list... Mindfulness – through breathing or engaging the 5 senses Distress Tolerance – Accepting Emotions and Self Soothing Distraction – Put the thoughts/feelings aside and come back to them when you are ready to deal with them Positive Affirmations – Have some affirmations written down repeat them to yourself daily Sleep/Exercise/Diet – All 3 aspects of our lifestyle can impact the way we think/feel Increasing Pleasurable Activities – Engage in at least one pleasurable activity per day

All discussions

Start a conversation

Pingunoog Lost High Schooler With Depression
  • replies: 3

Hello, I want some feedback on whether I'm going crazy or whether other people have felt the same... I'm a 17 yr old high schooler and I've been battling depression since I was in Yr 8. Lately, I've been told that that I failed a Preliminary subject ... View more

Hello, I want some feedback on whether I'm going crazy or whether other people have felt the same... I'm a 17 yr old high schooler and I've been battling depression since I was in Yr 8. Lately, I've been told that that I failed a Preliminary subject and may not be able to complete the HSC this year. I was looking forwards to graduating high school and leaving the experiences of high school behind but this news of having to redo an extra year has completely crushed me. I can't think about surviving another year in high school, I can't rely on my friends or my teachers because I understand that they are unable to empathise with my pain. The decision of not completing the HSC has weighed heavily on my mind because I'm sick and tired of the mundane routine that high school forces on me. I used to be so caught up in grades that I've completely burnt out and don't want to care anymore, I want to be free and do more than what school offers. So I've researched extensively into alternate pathways and TAFE courses but some teachers are extra pushy about ATAR and all that. How do I tell people that I don't care about my ATAR? If my ATAR means I'm going to be broken throughout my uni years, I'd rather not receive an ATAR at all. I'd rather continue my education by working, building connections and getting a diploma before entering uni to obtain a degree. People keep telling me things I don't want to hear, "Focus on the HSC.", "You're going to get a good ATAR because you're smart.", "What do you mean you're not good? You're good at everything." Why can't these people see that I have periods where I genuinely considered not living at all? Some adults might think, oh, this 17 year old is naive and doesn't know what's best for themselves, "completing the HSC is the most important". Sometimes I just want to tell these adults, the child knows themselves better than anyone else so sometimes I wish they'd support me for more than the grades I produce as their student. It doesn't help that I attend a private school and parents are financially unstable and can't afford an extra year of school on top of math tuitions. At this point, I don't even know if I should just drop out and go work experience then transfer through TAFE.

Stagnated Stagnated
  • replies: 4

Hello to all i write this on the brink of tears and my sorrow welling up in throat. If there were a mirror, I’d look away in disgust. If I were to describe myself, it would be ‘loser’! My inner happiness has been sucked out of me years ago. I walk ar... View more

Hello to all i write this on the brink of tears and my sorrow welling up in throat. If there were a mirror, I’d look away in disgust. If I were to describe myself, it would be ‘loser’! My inner happiness has been sucked out of me years ago. I walk around as an empty shell with a false smile on my face. That mask I wear to cover up my self hatred and loathing. I am a good, kind person who rescues others, whilst I drown in self abuse. Daily mantra is “I am not worthy”. My friends never text or call unless I do so first. They’re happy enough to want to talk and catch up, but I am not worthy of being one of their priorities. My siblings were brought up as dysfunctional as I. I continually question the experience of ‘joy’ and most nights anxiety creeps up on me. Why, why am I such a person no one wants? I am respectful and genuine when meeting and greeting others, yet I have my brink wall up. Afraid of being hurt or rejected. That’s my middle name “rejected”. “Loser” being my first. I have raised my children and enjoy my Grandchildren. I go to local clubs, bowlos to meet new people. I engage, laugh, smile, talk freely. Yet here I am, no phone calls or texts. i must be socially inept or simply not cut out to be let lose in society. How do you make new friend, meet new people, live a normal adjusted life? What is that!

Gem17 BPD diagnosis
  • replies: 36

I have very recently been diagnosed with BPD. While it was very overwhelming to hear at first, after speaking about it with professionals as well as doing my own research I feel as though the past 20+ years of my life make so much sense now. Has anyo... View more

I have very recently been diagnosed with BPD. While it was very overwhelming to hear at first, after speaking about it with professionals as well as doing my own research I feel as though the past 20+ years of my life make so much sense now. Has anyone else experienced this? I would love to connect with people who may have had similar experiences.

Bee1998 I hate the way I feel, and half the time I don't know why I'm feeling this way
  • replies: 2

I constantly feel frustrated inside, like I'm missing something and i don't know what it is. I have overwhelming feelings rush through me most days, which include agitation, anger, frustration, sadness, emptiness, loneliness, confusion, worry..... It... View more

I constantly feel frustrated inside, like I'm missing something and i don't know what it is. I have overwhelming feelings rush through me most days, which include agitation, anger, frustration, sadness, emptiness, loneliness, confusion, worry..... It's hard to explain, but even now as I'm typing this, I feel like weird rush of frustration through my body. It's almost as if I need to punch a wall, have sex, do drugs, or all of the above at the same time. It sounds silly, but that's the best way of describing it. It's like i'm never satisfied with life, and nothing interests me or excites me anymore. I'm constantly bored and wanting to go and do things, but am unable to due to my lack of friends. Today I got so bored that I resorted to drinking alcohol. Even just thinking of things I could do frustrated me, or just didn't interest me. I would have liked to have gone to the beach with a friend or something, but I don't have anyone to ask. Even if I did that though, it would just be to pass time... I still would feel empty. I just want to scream and cry and kick and punch. I don't know what is wrong with me.

RupertTurtleMan Life of the Party but Alone
  • replies: 3

I got diagnosed with ADHD earlier in the year and started working on myself and lost heaps of weight, started working out etc and got really into shape, and became sober. I feel healthy, have a great job, and people like having me around because I am... View more

I got diagnosed with ADHD earlier in the year and started working on myself and lost heaps of weight, started working out etc and got really into shape, and became sober. I feel healthy, have a great job, and people like having me around because I am the life if the party, and I go with the flow but I still feel alone. I am far more productive, the other issues my ADHD was causing pretty much went away, but still I feel alone and empty. The only thing that makes me genuinely feel happy is playing with my son, and really is the only reason I get out of bed in the morning and follow my routine. I've felt like this on and off for years, and it genuinely did get better when I became sober and started working in myself but still this persists, and I don't really have anyone to talk to since I just have to "man up".

AceCowboy I feel like I can't talk to anyone, because I feel I'm not being listened
  • replies: 4

As the title says, I've found myself in a rut that I cannot seem to find a way out of. I suffer from anxiety and depression, and I have serious trust issues stemming from mental abuse from my mother. I also feel like I've failed in life, as I have ba... View more

As the title says, I've found myself in a rut that I cannot seem to find a way out of. I suffer from anxiety and depression, and I have serious trust issues stemming from mental abuse from my mother. I also feel like I've failed in life, as I have basically given up any interest I've had because of toxic people, with nobody there to help me or encourage me to continue. Even now, I'm overweight, no matter how much exercise and dieting I do. Work at a horrible job where people are trying to get me fired. And no friends/relationships to talk to. I've been to 3 different therapists, and all 3 have not helped. Every time I try to talk to someone about it, I mostly get people disinterested to hear it, or they downplay what I say as "attention seeking" or stupid. The very few people that will listen, I feel they are not seeing things how I describe it, and tend to go in circles around the issue and ultimately not getting anywhere. Only for them at times to get fed up and claim "I'm don't want their advice". Sometimes I feel like maybe my mother was right, that I'm worthless and people would be better off if I were gone

Lonely_Cookie Lonely and empty
  • replies: 7

Hi Even though I am married with kids I feel so empty and lonely. I have never been great at making friends or keeping them, as a child/teenager I was always to scared to bring friends home because you never knew when my dad was in a good or bad mood... View more

Hi Even though I am married with kids I feel so empty and lonely. I have never been great at making friends or keeping them, as a child/teenager I was always to scared to bring friends home because you never knew when my dad was in a good or bad mood and he is the type of person that thought everyone should think and believe in what he did and looked down on those who didn’t. So it was easier just not to have friends. I am now in my late 30’s but I have spent the whole time until I was about 23 when I moved out of home, not having friends or at least A very few for a short time but no real close friends . Since being married and having Kids I am finding even harder to make or spend time with anyone in order to have any friends, so I pretty much gave up trying to keep any friendship. I had and the couple of people who I thought were my friends never made contact with me after I mentally decided not to try any more. My husband doesn’t drive as he has poor eyesight so I have to drive him to and from work and because he works weekends only, I feel I can’t do anything because if I do I’ll have to stop part way through to pick him up from work. He works weekends and I work during the week, so we never see each other, other then a couple of hours at night but then I’m dealing with kids, so no quality time together, which makes me feel even more lonely and empty. I am also finding I’m holding a lot of resentment towards my husband because of this but also because he doesn’t work during the week he spends time every week with his friends Playing games even if he has the kids he just lets them run wild and destroy everything while he plays his games. Because I’ve never had a close friends or family members I’ve never been able to talk to people about how I feel, this includes my husband and I feel Because if my insecurities with relationships I feel I’m holding my kids back as well and doing them more harm then good, which makes me wonder if they would be better off with out me.

Blackknight So many things happening
  • replies: 4

Hi all, For a while now I have been feeling quite sad, hopeless, etc. I am always tired, even with a 9 hour + of sleeping, I am struggling to keep up with work with how tired I am being. I have lost interest in things I loved doing, I am hardly socia... View more

Hi all, For a while now I have been feeling quite sad, hopeless, etc. I am always tired, even with a 9 hour + of sleeping, I am struggling to keep up with work with how tired I am being. I have lost interest in things I loved doing, I am hardly social with any of my friends. I had just recently broke up with my girlfriend that lives so far away and I hardly got to see her. We couldn't do it due to the distance. I hated that I had to do it , it was just too hard. I just want to be able to feel that happiness I did years ago, I am slowly becoming more social and meeting new people.

chrisau I feel like I'm about to die
  • replies: 7

Hi, I'm Chris. I suffer from depression. Sometimes I have a sense of emptiness in my life, often associated with the feeling that something very bad is going to happen, like that I will die in a few days, even if I have no reasons to believe that. Is... View more

Hi, I'm Chris. I suffer from depression. Sometimes I have a sense of emptiness in my life, often associated with the feeling that something very bad is going to happen, like that I will die in a few days, even if I have no reasons to believe that. Is this a normal symptom of depression? How can I deal with the sense of emptiness and the feeling that something bad is going to happen? Any response will be appreciated.

Enterprise Not brave enough to fix depression
  • replies: 4

Hi. I’ve been depressed for twelve years now. I’m sure some of you can relate. When it first started as a teenager, I made the mistake of talking to people about it. I was told everything from I’m lying and making it up to there’s nothing wrong with ... View more

Hi. I’ve been depressed for twelve years now. I’m sure some of you can relate. When it first started as a teenager, I made the mistake of talking to people about it. I was told everything from I’m lying and making it up to there’s nothing wrong with my life and I should just get over it. So I stopped talking about it. And now I don’t know how to talk about it. I think I should talk to someone. But I can’t. If I tell my family, they’ll say the same things they did before. I can’t tell a professional because if I even mention suicide they say they’ll be forced to report me to the authorities. And the authorities will tell my family. Even if my family finally accept I have depression, they won’t help me. They’ll throw me out. I probably deserve that. Maybe I should leave anyway. I don’t have anywhere to go but being homeless can’t be any worse than living a lie, right? I don’t know. Maybe someone here has lived through something similar, and you can tell me if there’s any hope. Thank you for reading my post.

As an organisation that supports people from across Australia, Beyond Blue acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of Country and their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay respect to Elders past and present.

First Nations Peoples are advised that this website may include reference to and images of deceased persons.

Beyond Blue is committed to safe inclusive spaces, policies and services for people of LGBTIQ+ communities and their families.

Helpful information

Stay in touch

Sign up below for regular emails from Beyond Blue, filled with information, advice and support for you or your loved ones.

Stay in touch

Talk it through with us, we'll point you in the right direction.

Call 1300 224 636

24 hours / 7 days a week

Chat Online

24 hours / 7 days a week

Email us

Get a reply in 24 hours

Copyright � 2026 Beyond Blue Ltd

All rights reserved

Contact us Terms of use Privacy policy Site map